Leaders to hold ceremony for $554M settlement

As soon as Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly and Speaker Pro Tem Lorenzo Bates ink their signatures with federal officials on the $554 million settlement, public hearings with the Navajo people will soon take place.

This is according to Bates, who told the Navajo Times Wednesday that the first public hearing about how the tribe should allocate the $554 million is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 6 in Chinle.

“It’s a considerable amount of money,” Bates said. “The question is how will the Navajo Nation use these dollars?”

To find out how, Bates said, the Office of the Speaker, as directed by the Navajo Nation Council’s Naabik’íyáti’ Committee, will host these public hearings with the Navajo people.

Along with educating the public of the funds, Bates explained that the Navajo people would also receive lessons on the tribal budget process.